New Zealand Listener Issue 13, 2023

It was with great pleasure that I settled down to read a recent Listener. But after wading through “The Pleasure Gap” (March 4), I felt increasing dismay. You can’t leave the house these days without tripping over menopause, and it all boils down to the same message: have more sex, age is no barrier, and you owe it to yourself (and your partner). I am one of those women who lived through the first wave of feminism in the 60s and 70s and, yes, I was rolling my eyes at this point. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that every man, no matter his age, wants to know he can still get it up. It is a truth universally ignored that many a woman reaches a point where she simply can’t be faffed.…

WINNING CAPTION Steve Godsiff, Timaru FINALISTS Steven Spielberg: “It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.”– Bernard Harris, Palmerston North Steven Spielberg conducts two orchestras at once. – Kate Gore, Tauranga Spielberg: “I thought I was up for the GOAT award.” – Ellie Henderson, Motueka Spielberg: “They’re two Dark Force weather balloons.” – Ian Bywater, Rangiora Spielberg hints that the subject of his next movie will be bigger than Ben-Hur. – Vic Evans, Nelson…

It is not the role of supermarkets to determine animal welfare standards, as is noted in the well-researched article on egg production (“Ruffled feathers”, March 11) by Andrea Graves. Animal welfare has to be balanced against human welfare, and supermarkets have a duty to provide eggs at the lowest price possible for the many customers struggling to afford healthy food. The colony system is the most economical way to produce eggs, and in reaching its decision to approve it, Nawac (National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee) had to include economic viability among its considerations. Enriched cages, now called colony cages, are a balance between meeting ongoing consumption needs and the hens’ needs. In an ideal world, every hen would be free range and every person wealthy enough to buy their eggs. But we…

“I think the media will need a spatula to get the egg off your faces.”– Leo Molloy on the independent review of the emergency response to Auckland floods“Ruin your teenager’s day by looking in their general direction.”– on Twitter“If you ever see me in a social setting wearing any sort of sportswear, then you know I’m in crisis.” – Bill Nighy“How does the academy not nominate the guy who directed Avatar? What do they think he is, a woman?”– Jimmy Kimmel, hosting the 2023 Oscars“When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.” – Samuel Goldwyn“Everyone thinks they’re resilient until they’re standing in the slightly slower checkout line.”– on Twitter“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended…

1. Kiwi Lydia Ko is world No 1 in which sport? ❑ Tennis ❑ Skiing ❑ Golf ❑ Triathlon 2. Diptera is the order of which insects? ❑ Flies ❑ Bees and ants ❑ Beetles ❑ Butterflies and moths 3. How was the true identity of 18th century English highwayman Dick Turpin discovered? ❑ A cellmate informed on him ❑ A former schoolmate recognised his writing ❑ His wife identified him after remarrying ❑ His son was made to confess 4. A foible is a minor failing but where would you also use the term? ❑ Music ❑ Dancing ❑ Dressmaking ❑ Fencing 5. When did the Greens first gain seats in the NZ Parliament? ❑ 1990 ❑ 1993 ❑ 1996 ❑ 1999 6. In which US city is Yankee Stadium situated? ❑ New York ❑ Chicago ❑ Los Angeles ❑ Washington DC 7. Vivian Darkbloom was a pseudonym for which writer? ❑ Agatha Christie ❑ Vladimir Nabokov ❑ Isaac Asimov ❑ Gore Vidal 8.…

Is Berlin on track to becoming the most feminist city in the world? In 2019, the city state officially declared International Women’s Day a public holiday; in Germany, states get to choose some of their public holidays outside of the obvious ones like Christmas. Berlin has chosen to take off March 8 every year. This year, just a few days After that holiday, Berlin appeared to become even more feminist. The operators of the city’s public swimming pools – there are more than 60 indoor and outdoor pools, visited by about six million people a year – announced that from now on, women and men would be equal when it came to going topless. Reacting to a complaint about discriminatory swimwear, the city pool operators released a statement saying that “in the…